1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recording a television (TV) broadcasting program, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automatically generating and managing a list of broadcasting programs recorded on a recording unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
As data processing technologies are particularly developing in the field of televisions, broadcasting stations are becoming able to transmit various kinds of additional information, including general information on TV programs, together with video and audio signals, and users can receive through TV receivers and utilize such additional information for many purposes.
In other words, typical analog broadcasting systems have transmitted a very limited amount of additional information. Thus, it has not been possible to provide users with various services because there is a limit to the additional information that can be inserted and transmitted in predetermined intervals of horizontal synchronization signals. However, recently developed digital broadcasting systems can massively transmit additional information for users' conveniences. Such additional information includes not only electronic program guide (EPG) information including general information on TV programs but also information regarding education, games, on-line commercial transactions, etc., and the coverage of the additional information is inclined to increase.
In addition, the range of functions of a digital TV receiver is likely inclined to increase from a basic function for processing the broadcasting signals and outputting them through a display device to a function for recording broadcasting programs on a recording unit, such as a hard disc drive (HDD), incorporated in the digital TV receiver in accordance with a user's preferences.
Usually, a list of recorded broadcasting programs is stored in a file allocation table (FAT) of a HDD for efficient management thereof. However, in a conventional method of managing the list of recorded broadcasting programs, title information of only a starting program, i.e., a broadcasting program that corresponds to the starting time of recording, has been extracted from EPG information and stored in the FAT, together with track information and information on the recording time. That is, in a case where two or more programs are recorded at one time in the same file, only the starting program can be managed since only the title information of the starting program is stored in the FAT. Thus, it is hard to know and impossible to access directly each of the other programs recorded in the same file as the starting program. As well, many inconveniences in managing the recorded programs exist.